W6/CC-072 San Bruno Mountain

Last weekend I sprained my ankle while orienteering and I wanted to get out and do some activations, so I needed to find some easy peaks that had limited amounts of walking. San Bruno Mountain and Mt Davidson fit the bill nicely, so I headed out Saturday morning. I left early enough that the drive up 101 to San Bruno was traffic free, and the park entrance was easy to find off of Guadalupe Canyon Parkway. Normally I would park at the bottom and hike up, but with a bad ankle I drove to the summit. The drive up was short, and there was still plenty of space in the lot at the top. I got my gear out of the trunk, then started looking around for a place to set up. I followed the fence uphill, and on the far side found an open area that was fairly flat. I lashed my pole to a corner and set up the doublet.

From this angle it looks like I have a hundred foot fishing pole.

 It was overcast and windy on top, and it got cold towards the end of the activation. I started on 40, and after a few contacts moved to 30, where I made the majority of QSOs. 20 meters also netted a few, as well as 2m FM. I watched the planes takeoff and land at SFO, and was treated to a red tailed hawk and a turkey vulture soaring around below me. It is always a treat to watch birds, especially raptors, from above.

Looking South, down the peninsula.

 After I had worked all of the chasers, I packed up and headed back to the car to defrost and drive over to Mt Davidson. In total, I worked 18 people, mostly on HF.

I think the peak in the center is Mt Diablo.

Trailhead: Parking lot at the base off of Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, or drive to the top and park there.
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: http://parks.smcgov.org/sites/parks.smcgov.org/files/Map_from_SanBrunoMtnSept2014.pdf. KB1KXL SOTA Hikes map
Route: Hiking route is described by others on the SOTA site. KE6MT has a good description. I drove to the top, then found a space at a fence corner near the parking lot to set up.
Red Tape: None.